The Justice Department independently decided this week to share “Steele Dossier” files with Congress, having no influence from the White House, a source familiar with the situation told The Daily Caller.
House Speaker Paul Ryan announced Thursday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation will finally hand those documents over “by next week.” Ryan told Reuters Wednesday that the FBI has been “stonewalling.”
“The FBI got in touch with us yesterday afternoon, and they have informed us that they will comply with our document requests, and that they will provide the documents Congress has been asking for by next week,” Ryan said Thursday.
The dossier alleges connections between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. The House Intelligence Committee sent subpoenas in August to the FBI and DOJ seeking documents about the government’s relationship with the dossier’s author, former British spy Christopher Steele.
A Justice Department spokesman also announced Wednesday that an FBI informant will no longer be subject to a non-disclosure agreement, freeing him to speak to lawmakers about any alleged corruption related to an Obama-era uranium deal.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Friday that President Trump sought that decision. “If President personally intervened w DOJ to advance case against political opponent it’s beyond disturbing; I intend to pursue new probe,” House Intelligence Committee ranking member Adam Schiff tweeted Thursday.
The separate decision to release the dossier documents was an independent move by DOJ, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Multiple White House spokeswomen did not respond to requests for comment.